Key Take Away: To succeed with job interviewing, approach it iteratively so you control each step till you get the job offer.

The main purpose of an interview is not to hire you but to eliminate you from consideration, since everyone can’t get the job. Only one person will get the job and others will be eliminated through what is commonly referred as the interview process. Using a sport analogy, this is no different than one NFL team winning a Super Bowl.

Competition may be good in sports but not when it comes to looking for a job. You would not be eliminated or even have to compete if an employer knew you well and knew that you could do the job well. How much time do you think the employer will spend interviewing you? Not much, unless the employer has to make it look like it’s a fair process.

How do you approach an interview when you have to compete?

You have to change the game and turn the interview into an “Iterview.” This is a word I like to use where you go through an iterative process that results in a formal job offer at the end of the fifth iteration (at the maximum). This process puts you in control rather than being controlled by the employer’s interview process.Why “Iterview”?

Unless the employer has seen you doing the job, the interview is doing the job. You need to develop a game plan on how to do that job. If the potential employer does not understand this, then you are likely dealing with an employer who views interview as a dating game. If you suspect this, then you definitely don’t want to play this game since dating is unpredictable and you have no control over what the employer will ask and like. Your chances will not be very good of getting the job if the interview turns into a dating game.

To increase your chances, you must learn to turn an interview into an iterative process where you know exactly what to expect and are not blindsided by anything that is essentially designed to eliminate you. In this process, you and the employer both get to decide jointly whether you both want to move to the next iterative step.

Let’s take a look at the five iterative steps you are likely to go through during an “iterview.”

First Iteration - Introductory CallMedium: Phone

The first call should be nothing more than an introductory call. It should not be more than 20 minutes and the purpose of the call is to find out in the interviewers word the following things:

What is the job? What is the compelling reason to hire? What is the interview/decision making process?What is their perfect candidate look like?What is the salary?

How much time should you spend preparing for this “iterview”?

Not much, since it is an introductory call. You only want to know the basic since if you do a lot of preparation you will come across too scripted and make lot of assumptions that you don’t want to make this early in the iterative process. Let the interviewer tell you what really matters.

What’s the next step?

You want to schedule a next call where the interviewer sends you three questions that he wants you to address. This way you are prepared to address things that help them get to what matters rather than answering questions that are irrelevant.

Note, the first step is the most important since it sets the overall tone of the iterative process. This is the step where you are most likely to be eliminated since the employer may not be looking for someone creative and effective at taking initiative like you but is probably more comfortable with a drone type. If this is the case, then this is not the job you should waste time pursuing unless you are desperate and need something as a stop gap.

Second IterationMedium: Phone

In this iteration, after you receive the three questions that matter to the interviewer that you want to prepare for the interview. You should go back to the interviewer to make sure you are absolutely clear on what he is looking for. There is no point making any assumptions. You have seized control of the process so keep the ball and drive it home iteratively.

In addition, during your preparation, you should come up with three questions that you would like the interviewer to address during the phone interview. Remember, when you are "iterviewing," you and the interview both have to agree that you want to move to the next step.

One of the key things to pay attention to during the phone interview is make sure the interviewer clearly articulates what they are looking for you to do and whether you are interested in doing that. There is no point in moving forward in this "iterview" process if there is no alignment on this. You don't want to waste time with the interview and. more important, you don't want to take a job that you will end up hating.

A good example of this is when James Green, CEO of Magnetc, was talked into taking a job by Steve Jobs that he did not want and ended up eventually resigning. He describes this episode in his blog in Fast Company titled, "What Steve Jobs Taught Me After I said 'No' to Him."

If the call goes well and both of you are aligned and still interested, then you are ready to move to the next iteration where you should talk to two or three other people in the company by phone.

Again, request questions ahead of time and send each interviewer questions you want them to address during the phone interview.

The purpose of sending in the questions is that an interview is not a test; it is showing the potential employer how you do the job, which in this case is interviewing.

Third IterationMedium: Phone

Go through the iteration you went through in iteration step two but make sure that there is consistency is what each of the interviewers are conveying to you. You want to see that all of them are on the same page and have prepared to interview you instead of going through the motion of interviewing.

Fourth Iteration - Video CallMedium: Google+ Hangout

You want to address any objections you or the interviewers have over Google+ Hangout since this is a neutral site so both you and the interviewer have to bring your “A” game and then if after this step both of you are convinced that there is a mutual fit and a strong interest, then schedule a face-to-face meeting to go over the job.

Before you agree to this, make sure you know clearly what the expectations are and that it is going to focus on the future, specifically the job so you can get started on day one. Though this is the last chance for either of you to reject each other, you want to make sure that you know what reservation they may still have and what issues you also want to get clarified.

If everything goes as expected, then both of you should make a go decision and work toward negotiating a salary and get started ASAP.

Congratulations! You got a job.

Final Thoughts

An interview is not a test. It is a sales process, thus you are the salesman and you are the product and solution that you are selling. The employer is the prospect and through iterative process, your job is to turn the prospect into a customer.

One of the most important skill to keep in mind is that the employer is using interview as a way to reject you, thus, your best tool to counteract this is negotiation. If you can’t negotiate then you are not likely to get the job since you are not showing how you would actually do the job. And they are going to hire without ever seeing you do the job, so how you iterview is the only way you can differentiate yourself from others.

Jay Oza is a founder and senior innovation business development consultant at 5ToolGroup, a company that specializes in helping startups and established firms bring innovation to market within 90 days through our unique 5Tool Methodology. He also likes to help others from what he has learned in areas such as job interviewing, education and self improvement. If you are struggling to make a change or need a little push, then let's connect to see how we can both help each other.